Introspective
| Recorded = 1987–1988 | Genre = Synthpop, dance-pop, disco | Length = 48:08 | Label = EMI Manhattan (US/Canada) Parlophone (UK) | Producer = Pet Shop Boys, Trevor Horn, Stephen Lipson, Lewis A. Martineé, David Jacob, Julian Mendelsohn | Last album = Actually (1987) | This album = Introspective (1988) | Next album = Behaviour (1990) | Misc = }} | rev2 = Los Angeles Times | rev2score = | rev3 = Rolling Stone | rev3score = | rev4 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide | rev4Score = | rev5 = Spin Alternative Record Guide | rev5score = 9/10 | rev6 = The Village Voice | rev6Score = A− }} Introspective is the third studio album by English synthpop duo Pet Shop Boys. It was first released on 11 October 1988 and is the Pet Shop Boys' second-best-selling album, selling over 4.5 million copies worldwide. (Their fifth studio album, Very, sold more than 5 million copies worldwide.) It is so named because "all the songs, although it's a dance album, are introspective". Perhaps the biggest change in Pet Shop Boys' sound evident on this album is an increasing attention to orchestration using real orchestras, particularly on the Trevor Horn-produced "Left to My Own Devices", which took months to produce. Background The album was unusual in that it completely reversed the typical process by which pop/dance acts released singles. Instead of releasing an album of regular-length (3–5-minute) songs, then releasing more lengthy remixes of those songs on subsequent singles, Introspective was released as an LP consisting of songs that all lasted six minutes or more. Songs from the album that were released as singles were released as shorter, more radio-friendly mixes. Of the four tracks on the album that were released as singles—"Left to My Own Devices", "Domino Dancing", "Always on My Mind", (which was released prior to the album) and "It's Alright"—none was released as a radio single in the same form that they appeared on the album. It is also notable that of the seven songs on the album (track five being a medley of two songs), only two were actually written specifically for this project— those being "Left to My Own Devices" and "Domino Dancing". "Always on My Mind" and "It's Alright" are both cover versions, "I Want a Dog" is a song that previously appeared as B-side of the single "Rent" and "I'm Not Scared" is their own version of a song they had previously written for Patsy Kensit's pop group Eighth Wonder. "Always on My Mind" was re-recorded for this album and mixed with "In My House", a new acid-house track on the album which expanded the lyrics to the song. The album was certified Platinum in Spain. Introspective was re-released in 2001 (as were the group's first six albums) as Introspective/Further Listening. The re-released version was digitally remastered and came with a second disc of B-sides and previously unreleased material from around the time of the album's original release. Yet another re-release followed on 9 February 2009, under the title Introspective: Remastered. This version contains only the 6 tracks on the original. With the 2009 re-release, the 2001 2CD re-release was discontinued. Neil Tennant, in a speech he gave to the Oxford Union, said that he regretted releasing Introspective so soon after Actually as he felt that the 12" nature of the songs may have put some fans off the band and that this probably impacted on the sales of Behaviour, the subsequent album which is critically regarded as the Pet Shop Boys' finest album but commercially is one of their least successful. Nevertheless, Introspective remains, according to Tennant, the best-selling Pet Shop Boys album internationally. It peaked at No. 2 in the UK Albums Chart, behind U2's Rattle and Hum. Track listing All the songs were written by Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe except "Always on My Mind" (written by Johnny Christopher, Mark James and Wayne Carson) and "It's Alright" (written by Sterling Void) # "Left to My Own Devices" – 8:16 # "I Want a Dog" – 6:15 # "Domino Dancing" – 7:40 # "I'm Not Scared" – 7:23 # "Always on My Mind/In My House" – 9:05 # "It's Alright" – 9:24 ''Further Listening 1988–1989'' # "I Get Excited (You Get Excited Too)" – 5:35 ** # "Don Juan" (demo version) – 4:22 # "Domino Dancing" (demo version) – 4:47 # "Domino Dancing" (alternative version) – 4:52 # "The Sound of the Atom Splitting" – 5:13 # "What Keeps Mankind Alive?" – 3:26 # "Don Juan" (disco mix) – 7:35 # "Losing My Mind" (disco mix) – 6:09 # "Nothing Has Been Proved" (demo for Dusty) – 4:51 * # "So Sorry, I Said" (demo for Liza) – 3:26 * # "Left to My Own Devices" (7" mix) – 4:47 # "It's Alright" (10" version) – 4:47 # "One of the Crowd" – 3:56 # "It's Alright" (7" version) – 4:20 # "Your Funny Uncle" – 2:18 Notes *(*) Previously unreleased. *(**) Not the same version featured on Alternative. Personnel *Neil Tennant *Chris Lowe Guest musicians *Richard Niles – orchestra arrangement and conduction on track 1 *Sally Bradshaw – additional vocals on track 1 *Frankie Knuckles – mix and additional production on track 2 *Josh Milian – piano solo on track 2 *Fro Sossa and Mike Bast – additional keyboards on track 3 *Nestor Gomez – guitar on track 3 *Tony Conception, Kenneth William Faulk, Dana Tebor and Ed Calle – brass on track 3 *The Voice in Fashion – backing vocals on track 3 *Blue Weaver – Fairlight CMI programming on track 4 *Andy Richards and Gary Maughan – Fairlight CMI programming on track 5 *Judy Bennett, Sharon Blackwell, H Robert Carr, Mario Friendo, Derek Green, Michael Hoyte, Herbie Joseph, Paul Lee, Gee Morris, Dee Ricketts, Iris Sutherland and Yvonne White – additional backing vocals on track 6 Chart performance References Category:Pet Shop Boys albums Category:1988 albums Category:EMI Records albums Category:Albums produced by Trevor Horn Category:Albums produced by Stephen Lipson